The Chennai Corporation has cancelled tenders to the tune of ₹127 crore, funded by the Smart City Mission, a week after floating the bids.
The last date for submission of bids was December 31. The civic body plans to float new tenders next week by relaxing the norms pertaining to ownership of machinery by contractors.
According to the existing norms of ownership of machinery, the contractor should show proof of ownership of equipment such as concrete mixer machines, needle vibrators, earthmovers, tipper lorries and dewatering pumps.
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“The norms will be relaxed before floating the tender again. A study has started on relaxing the norms. A decision on the tender will be made based on the study. More small contractors will be able to participate in the bids after the norms are relaxed,” said a Corporation official.
Greater participation
The new norms are expected to permit small contractors who do not own machinery to participate in the tender for civic infrastructure projects under the Smart City Mission.
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A few NGOs have been alleging that the Corporation was limiting bid participation of contractors, and have been demanding that tenders be broken up into smaller pieces for promoting healthy competition among contractors.
According to the previous tender document, the packages of the work proposed to be taken up by the Corporation were estimated at ₹1.27 crore to ₹6.7 crore per package. The work was divided into 36 packages.
After relaxing the norms, the packages will increase, the bid capacity will be smaller and the number of contractors for civic infrastructure projects will increase. “We are reworking on reducing the bid capacity to accomodate more small contractors,” said an official.
The work on stormwater drains is under way in 334 locations identified by the 15 IAS officers during the floods.
“At least 40% of the work has been completed. Of the ₹450 crore road projects, ₹57 crore projects were cancelled earlier,” said an official.